Who We Protect
by baichan
Summary: It was thought that only Central, Keystone, Metropolis, and Gotham were personified. They were wrong.


Clark was walking in Metropolis, just taking a walk, enjoying the beautiful day his city was blessed with, when suddenly a black haired lady darts out and hooks her arm with his.

"Oh, _Clark_." She says, staring at him with adoring, sky blue eyes and a bright, sunny demeanor that reflects the weather.

Her free hand has a soda and she takes a sip through the plastic straw, the noise grating on his sensitive hearing.

She snuggles closer.

He examines her clothing and even though it's a little bit off he finds it hard to write it off as strange.

She's wearing a red shirt under a blue blazer, a blue skirt and red heels. Attached to her blazer were two pins, one of the 'S' shield and one for the Daily Planet. She's bright and almost seems to shine.

He thinks she looks like an eccentric tourist with the way she examines face they pass.

That's when it clicks and he opens his mouth to say something, _anything_ when she stops pulling him along, and detaches herself from him.

Looking away from her he sees that they're in front of a newsstand. The lady smiles at the man working it grabs a newspaper , tucks it under her arm with the soda, hooks her arm in his again, and then pulls him away from the newsstand.

He opens his mouth to protest but the man working the newsstand just tips his hat to them.

"Have a nice day Ms. Metropolis."

The lady- Metropolis makes a motion of waving and turns back to give him another smile.

"You too Mr. Smith, tell Julie and the kids I said hello!"

Then she's pulling him forward again and before he can say anything, she hands him her soda, which he holds numbly, and takes the newspaper out from under her arm.

It's The Daily Planet and it has a picture of him- Superman- on the cover along with a collaborative article he and Lois wrote.

Her eyes are twinkling as she looks to him.

He takes her back to Mount Justice because they want to keep this as under wraps as possible without taking them to the Watchtower. All of them freaked out at the idea of leaving Earth.

The Flashes are there with Central and Keystone, one with blond hair that reflects red hanging and the other with red hair that reflects gold tied in twin braids. They both have blue eyes but Keystone, the red head, is a shade closer to green.

Central has hands on Barry and Wally's shoulder, in a motherly gesture, acting like the suburban middle class city she is, while Keystone is ruffling Wally's hair with one hand and fixing the yellow hard hat perched on her head like a baseball cap with the other.

Wally smiles up at her and points out, voice and eyes filled with excitement, that he and Keystone have matching freckles, while Barry is smiling at Central's blemish free.

Both cities have camisoles on, Central's white and Keystone's black, and plaid unbuttoned, button up shirts, Central's black and white and blue, and Keystone's red and black. Both are wearing jeans, although Central's are shorts and Keystone's are skinny jeans, and both have tennis shoes on.

Keystone blows a bubble with gum she was apparently chewing.

Like Metropolis they show signs of their heroes, Central with a necklace holding a lightning bolt pendant and Keystone's hard hat has red lightning bolt printed on it.

The room seems to drop a few degrees as Batman, Robin, and _Gotham_ enter.

Gotham at first glance is stunning. Her floor length, red dress sparkles in the light but whenever she takes a step you can see her dirty bare feet and scarred legs through the knee high slit. Her arms adorned in elbow length gloves that shine like the universe is on them, shift and you can see more gruesome scars. Suddenly her clothes seem less glamorous the more you look and see the imperfections underneath.

She has a hand on her protector's shoulders like Central but it's anything but motherly. With Bruce it's coaxing and seductive and with Dick she's digging her fingers into his flesh like a hawk latching its claws into whatever poor creature became the predator's prey.

She smiles at the other cities her smile sharp and crazy, grey eyes calculating and harsh. Her red lips stretch and you can see the splits and her hair moves with her head revealing gray strands woven in with black.

Metropolis cowers, whimpering behind Superman, and Central and Keystone move impossibly closer to the Flashes and each other.

Gotham chuckles and it's the same as the Joker and Robin's.

Then her head snaps and she looks at Artemis with a glare, pulling Batman and Robin closer.

"My children." She mumbles and Artemis feels something inside her hurt at the rejection of her own city.

Gotham keeps mumbling and the temperature keeps dropping.

"My knight, my squire, my princes."

There's a slam and Gotham scowls.

Moving her arm she let's go of Bruce and instead wraps her arms around Dick.

"My child." She hisses in his ear.

Another woman follows the trio.

She looks like Gotham like Keystone looks like Central.

Different but too similar to not be related.

Her hair has a sheen that's black edging towards blue that looks more like the night sky with a moon than Gotham's pitch black hair and her eyes are more blue and a little bit more sane but still crazy.

She storms in and she doesn't have the elegance or the faux glamor that Gotham does.

Her thigh high white dress is dirty and torn, more like rags than a dress, and she doesn't even have gloves or try to cover the scars and dinge she's covered in. Dirty footprints follow every barefooted step of hers.

Gotham hisses and tightens her hold on Robin to the point where he looks like he's choking and every hero in the room has half a mind, or more, to go help him.

Superman would have moved in front to block ever body from the strange lady but Metropolis sounds like she's bordering on a panic attack.

Instead it's Batman who does something. He steps in front of Gotham and Robin.

"Who are you?" he hisses.

She sneers cruelly and reaches out to him but pulls her hand back.

"Poison!" she hisses, "Poison to me and my…"

She trails off and peeks behind him to see Dick in Gotham's too tight embrace.

She smiles maniacally.

"My beloved." She croons.

The room gets so cold even Clark and Connor have goose bumps and chills.

Bruce is frozen as she walks around him.

Gotham hisses but the lady easily peels her off and pushes Gotham down.

The lady wraps Robin in her own deadly embrace.

"My _hero._" She croons again, her dingy hand stroking his face and smearing dirt on his cheek.

M'gann feels fear radiating off of Robin but she can't do anything to help.

Her eyes are on everyone else but she's speaking to Robin.

She purrs, her lips close to his ear.

Her eyes move to Bruce.

"I'll be there for you when the Bat forsakes you. When you're replaced and your replacement's replaced and your replacement's replacement's _girlfriend_ takes up your mantle."

Robin's eyes widen and his eyes show betrayal as she peels off his mask.

She smirks.

"That's right, Robin is nothing, means nothing. It's there for any street rat to take. For _Batman_ to give away."

Dick is flabbergasted and his brow furrows, eyes shining with hurt.

"That's right _Dick_, it's not yours. He's not yours. He doesn't even adopt you."

Her eyes observe Bruce with disdain.

"_No._ He adopts a street rat and a rich kid who still has a dad."

Her smirk is right against his ear, her hot breath right against his ear.

"But not you, never you. You're just a _ward_ to him, one he uses as a scapegoat for the death of your replacement, his own personal _punching_ bag."

Robin's breathing is accelerating and he groans as her sharp, broken nails dig into him.

"I'll break you properly."

Her eyes go around the room to see everyone's shock and her smirk grows as she presses her body against the adolescent.

"You'll have blood on your hands brain matter on your face and make love in it."

At the gasp and sharp intakes of breathes she smiles maniacally.

"Who knows about it being consensual, the words 'don't touch me' were spoken."

Robin looks like he's about to have a panic and he's struggling to get out of her grasp.

The lady laughs and it's a cackle, high pitched and stained.

She pushes him to the floor and straddles him.

"No, no, no…" he mumbles.

The lady speaks but her voice changes to something much harsher, accented, and _alive_.

"Quiet mi amore. Callado." Her hand goes down to his chest.

She leans over to whisper loudly for everyone to hear, her voice going back to the original voice.

"I'll kill your first family, destroy your whole apartment building killing everyone inside, and threaten everyone who knows you."

Her voice deepens in a threatening tone.

"Then you'll step out of the way for a bullet and then I'll take you control."

She sits back up and caresses his chest.

"Your ability to say no."

One hand goes back up to caress his cheek.

"I'll destroy you in the span of forty eight hours."

She starts cackling again, as her nails rip down Robin's face.

Gotham scoffs.

"Get off him, _Blüdhaven."_

The faux glamorous woman saunters to the lady- Blüdhaven, pushing her away and off of the crying Robin.

"He's mine. I have his mentor, I hold his family history, and his _great-grandfather_ is in my personal army for old Gotham."

She wraps her arms around Robin in an embrace that's like everything else about her. Fake.

Robin takes in a gulping breath.

"M-my gr-grandfather?"

Gotham makes a mock sympathetic look.

"You poor baby, you must be so upset by what the mean city said."

She smiles cruelly and Robin feels like he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. His past and his future.

"I said your great-grandfather. William Cobb. He's an _assassin. _Like you were _supposed _to be._"_

She smiles at Robin's shocked expression.

Her eyes flit to Bruce.

"He kills a Wayne."

Batman opens his mouth and hurt and betrayal radiate off of him.

Gotham rolls her eyes.

"Not your beloved parents."

Batman looks at his feet.

Gotham narrows her eyes at him.

"If you had died in Crime Alley your father would have become Batman."

Gotham pauses and looks down to Dick.

"See? Batman belongs to _me_ and _you_ become Batman. So you belong to _me._" She mumbles.

She turns back to Bruce.

"Yes your father was one with less… _Morals_… And your mother,"

Her face twists in a sneer like she had lemon juice on her tongue.

"Your mother becomes the Joker."

"No." Batman says in a scared voice like an eight year old that just lost his parents.

"Don't worry sweetie, that doesn't _actually_ happen."

Her eyes flash to the Flash.

"It's _his_ fault."

Flash points to himself.

"_My fault?"_

Central soothes him.

"It's not your fault. It's Professor Zoom's."

"Who?"

"Hush, it'll be okay sweetie."

Gotham smiles and looks at her boys with a smile.

"Ya _sweeties._ Hush."

Her smile twists like the Joker's and she looks seconds away from laughing.

"Hush."

* * *

**I'm too tired to read over this. So... Hush ;)**


End file.
